There are four main sects with in Hinduism:Shaivism, in which Lord Shiva is worshiped as the main god; Vaishnavism, in which Vishnu is the main god; Shaktism inwhich the female aspect of gods is primarily worshiped and Smartism, in which six main gods are worshipped Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Ganesha, Murugan and Surya.

May 9, 2015

Auroville: The City of Dawn

Auroville: The City of Dawn

The year 2003 marks the 35th anniversary of the founding of
Auroville, a unique 'model city' near Pondicherry, India. Inspired by
the great Indian spiritual master Sri Aurobindo, Auroville has developed into a full-fledged city with an expanding community of nearly 2000 people from 40 countries.

Auroville,
the City of Dawn, is a manifestation of human unity in diversity
inspired by the work and prescience of Sri Aurobindo (1872 - 1950) and
his French spiritual collaborator, known as the Mother (1878 - 1973).

Auroville is built on the pedestal of Sri
Aurobindos teaching at the behest of the Mother and epitomizes
solidarity and unity, where people of all countries would be at home.

The
General Assembly of UNESCO unanimously passed in 1966, 1968, 1970 and
1983 resolutions of support to Auroville, inviting "member states and
international non-governmental organisations to participate in the
development of Auroville as an international cultural township designed
to bring together the values of different cultures and civilizations in a
harmonious environment with integrated living standards which
correspond to man's physical and spiritual needs."

Auroville is
located on a low-lying plateau on the south east coast of India in
Pondicherry and is planned for 50,000 inhabitants. This unique project
was inaugurated on 28th February 1968 when young people representing 124
countries and all Indian states placed handfuls of earth on an urn as a
symbol of human unity irrespective of nationality, caste or creed near
the site of Matrimandir at the center of Auroville.

The Matrimandir

The Matrimandir,
the Soul of Auroville with its central sphere of meditation is a place
for silence and concentration and radiating out of Matimandir are four
zones  the industrial (north), cultural (north east), residential
(south/south west) and international (west) each depicting an important
aspect of communitys activities. Silence, Cleanliness and Discipline
cannot be dispensed with at Matrimandir.

Activities

The
activities of the inhabitants are diverse and encompass cultural
activities, educational research, health care, village development,
technology and construction, small and medium scale business,
afforestation, organic agriculture, town planning and community
services. Auroville in an attempt to be self-sufficient in its energy
needs has a policy of experimenting with and implementing renewable and
non-polluting energy like solar, wind and biogas.

Organisation of Auroville

A
flexible internal structure is set up by the community members keeping
in mind the Mothers advice that the experiment should not be hampered
by too many rules and regulations. The day-to-day affairs are managed by
various working groups covering areas like finance, health, community
coordination and operate with a certain degree of autonomy. Major
community decisions are taken in open meetings and the mode of
decision-making is by consensus.

The Auroville Charter1.
Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to
humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville one must be the willing
servitor of the Divine Consciousness.2. Auroville will be the place of an unending education, of constant progress, and a youth that never ages.3.
Auroville wants to be the bridge between the past and the future.
Taking advantage of all discoveries from without and from within,
Auroville will boldly spring towards realizations.4. Auroville will be a site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an actual Human Unity.
Auroville
is meant to hasten the advent of the supramental reality upon earth.
The help of all those who find that the world is not what it ought to be
is welcome. Each one must know if they want to associate with an old
world ready for death, or to work for a new and better world preparing
to be born.